Forecasting Climate Change Risks to Biodiversity and Food Security
Call for Applications
The African Climate and Development Initiative (ACDI) at the University of Cape Town is seeking a Postdoctoral Research Fellow (PDRF) to lead a project forecasting
climate change risks to wild-harvested food plants and the nutritional consequences for the communities that depend on them.
The PDRF will be motivated to work as part of a diverse research team, engage with decision-makers in food systems and conservation, and generate peer-reviewed publications.
There is also the opportunity to work with the ACDI-based team on climate change impacts and adaptation in Africa for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s
(IPCC) 6th Assessment Report, due in 2021.
Project research will address the following objectives:
(1) Synthesize evidence from diverse case studies (Zambia, Brazil, Turkey, among others) on the importance of wild edible plants for nutrition.
(2) Forecast where and when wild-harvested food plant species are at risk from climate change.
(3) Assess how wild edible plants might help people adapt to climate change risks to food systems.
The overall aim of the broader research project is to link these key objectives to provide improved forecasting about
climate change risks and adaptation options for biodiversity and food systems that goes beyond staple crops to the exceptional diversity of wild edible plants.
The PDRF is an excellent opportunity for those who want to push forward the frontiers in biodiversity and food systems
analyses, considering climate change. Research will be based on existing case study and biodiversity data on plants, including work flows for high spatial resolution species geographic range maps.
The PDRF will be advised by
Dr Christopher Trisos at ACDI and will join an international team including researchers at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and Biodiversity International.
The PDRF will be given the necessary resources for their work: IT and communication infrastructure, participation in the Emerging Researcher Programme (ERP) and
other supportive training at University of Cape Town for early career researchers.
Remote working is allowed.
The University of Cape Town reserves the right to
·
Disqualify ineligible, incomplete and/or inappropriate applications;
·
Change the conditions of the award or to make no awards at all